Water Born: Swimming Along in Competition and Life
by Gwen Deely

May 24, 2012

My life aquatic was in full swing before I was born.

Evidently I was busy doing laps and polishing my freestyle in the womb because doctors had to pluck me out with a forceps two weeks after my due date. My parents gave me swim lessons at the tender age of three. A football-shaped float strapped to my body kept me from drowning.

My first race, when I was four years old, was memorable for its ferocity. So determined was I to win that the organizers were unable to stop me when a false start occurred. I swam my guts out while they were shouting, blowing whistles and finally jumping in. Even when I was held aloft above the water, my arms were frantically churning to win that race.
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